Ethics in dementia care was the theme of a course held in Belgium last month by KU Leuven, one of the largest and most renowned universities in Europe.

Attending the course were professionals in different fields, such as healthcare administration, nursing and social work. These included CareMalta Group’s chief operating officer Noel Borg and nursing manager Maria Xuereb, as well as Maria Aurora Fenech and Christian Xuereb from the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Malta.

The course aimed to introduce participants to a variety of stakeholders’ perspectives on ethics in dementia care, such as those of the patients, relatives, nurses, physicians, managers and society in general, and to foster exchanges on foundational, clinical-ethical and organisational-ethical approaches to dementia care.

Among others, the course tackled the current societal images of dementia, the advanced care planning in dementia care, sexual expression in dementia care, the use of electronic tracking devices, and euthanasia.

The course was coordinated by Chris Gastmans, professor of medical ethics and head of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics and Law at KU Leuven’s Faculty of Medicine.